Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40589873›Full record

ArticleTranslational animal science2025

Breeding Bulls in Alberta: a cross-sectional descriptive survey of breeding bull herds and current management strategies.

Thomas Daborn, Edmond A Pajor, Jennifer M Pearson

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Translational animal science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Advances in the Diagnosis of Reproductive Disorders in Male Camelids.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Thomas DabornUniversity of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Calgary, AB T2N1N4, Canada.
Edmond A PajorUniversity of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Calgary, AB T2N1N4, Canada.
Jennifer M PearsonUniversity of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Calgary, AB T2N1N4, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4481-8731

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Currently, there is very little known about bull demographics and how bulls are managed on cow-calf operations in Alberta. Identifying these knowledge gaps will provide valuable insights on producer practices and potentially influence future management protocols that will improve bull management and the productivity of cow-calf operations. The objectives of this study were to benchmark beef bull herd demographics and bull management strategies in Alberta, Canada and to investigate associations between herd demographics and management strategies. Cow-calf producers were surveyed between February and August 2022 by paper or electronic copies of the survey. Fifty-two of 72 respondents were enrolled. Forty-two percent of the respondents were seedstock producers. The median female herd size exposed for breeding was 160 cows (IQR: 57 to 275; range: 14 to 1600) as reported by 43 respondents. The most common breed of bull used was Angus, followed by Hereford. The median number of bulls kept was 9, (IQR: 4 to 15; range: 1 to 71). Roughly 1 in 6 bulls were culled with the majority of bulls being culled or treated for conditions due to musculoskeletal or infectious foot causes. The median bull:cow ratio was 1:21 (IQR: 1:11 to 1:25) for heifers and 1:23 (IQR 1:20 to 1:26) for cows. The top 3 selection considerations for replacement bulls for breeding heifers was bull birthweight, bull EPD for calving ease, and physical appearance. The selection criteria for cows were bull adjusted weaning weight, physical appearance, and foot and leg conformation. This study contributes novel information on the breeding bull demographics and management strategies of cow-calf producers in Alberta. In addition, it identifies musculoskeletal issues as the major causes of treatment, death, and culling in bulls and recommends further investigation into causes and management strategies to mitigate these issues and improve bull health and welfare.

Indexed as

beef cattlebenchmarkingbull managementcow-calfherd demographics

Identifiers

PMID40589873
PMCPMC12207862

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.